RESEARCH ARTICLE Apotropaic Practices and the Undead: A Biogeochemical Assessment of Deviant Burials in Post-Medieval Poland Lesley A. Gregoricka1*, Tracy K. Betsinger2, Amy B. Scott3, Marek Polcyn4 1. Department of Sociology, Anthropology, & Social Work, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama, United States of America, 2. Department of Anthropology, SUNY College at Oneonta, Oneonta, New York, United States of America, 3. Department of Anthropology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, 4. Department of Anthropology, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada *
[email protected] Abstract Apotropaic observances-traditional practices intended to prevent evil-were not OPEN ACCESS uncommon in post-medieval Poland, and included specific treatment of the dead for Citation: Gregoricka LA, Betsinger TK, Scott AB, Polcyn M (2014) Apotropaic Practices and the those considered at risk for becoming vampires. Excavations at the Drawsko 1 Undead: A Biogeochemical Assessment of Deviant cemetery (17th–18th c. AD) have revealed multiple examples (n56) of such deviant Burials in Post-Medieval Poland. PLoS ONE 9(11): e113564. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0113564 burials amidst hundreds of normative interments. While historic records describe Editor: Sharon N. DeWitte, University of South the many potential reasons why some were more susceptible to vampirism than Carolina, United States of America others, no study has attempted to discern differences in social identity between Received: September 5, 2014 individuals within standard and deviant burials using biogeochemical analyses of Accepted: October 28, 2014 human skeletal remains. The hypothesis that the individuals selected for apotropaic Published: November 26, 2014 burial rites were non-local immigrants whose geographic origins differed from the Copyright: ß 2014 Gregoricka et al.